My Moody Valentine – A Dark Romance with Fabric

Need a quick fix for a dinner for two – that’s more dark romance than bubblegum pink?These romantic dinner ideas are worthy of any evening that’s full of atmosphere.

It helps if your space already has a unique vibe. This tiny flat is super chic, filled with antiques, art, books and gorgeous fabric.

First step – come up with a plan that’s easy to execute. Keep the menu super simple – it’s the setting that will make the evening special. Stop off at your local grocery for key ingredients – including some pre-made dinner items – and a bouquet of flowers. We went for the deepest, darkest red roses we could find for our moody Valentine’s Day celebration.

Stash anything you don’t need for the evening and do a quick fluff of your living space.

Next it’s off to the dining room to start setting the mood. We’re going for dark romance here, a bit broody – more Jane Eyre than Bridget Jones. So for added effect, we placed the roses in a glass cloche on the dining table.

A vintage kantha quilt is thrown over a chair back for added warmth, and a tasseled velvet pillow adds layers to the decadence. The back wall is painted with washes of Velvet Finishes paint. The table cloth is made from Bryony Storm decorator fabric to match the wallpaper.

Add even more visual interest with butterflies under glass, rose petals – or any other small, evocative items you can steal from another room.

Romantic Dinner Ideas — The romance is in the details.

We plucked these butterflies off a wall in the living room – then scattered rose petals, stems and red cherries!

Next, we whipped up a not-too-sweet Cherry Chocolate Bourbon Soda in the kitchen using muddled cherries and strawberries and tart cherry and chocolate extracts.

Our recipe is a simplified version of the gorgeous, all-handmade version on Katie at the Kitchen Door. Katie made her own cherry syrup and cherry vanilla soda. It looks amazing! We aspire to be Katie – but in the interest of time we modified this for a quick, easy, after work cocktail.

We did chop up some luscious strawberries and pitted a few fresh cherries to muddle. The fresh fruit made all the difference. Here’s our recipe:

Cherry Chocolate Bourbon Sodas (serves 2)

2 ounces Bourbon (we used Maker’s Mark)

3 ounces Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 teaspoon Chocolate Extract

1 tablespoon Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

1 teaspoon Tart Cherry Extract

2 medium Strawberries

5 pitted Cherries

Creme Soda to taste

Muddle cherries and strawberries in bottom of shaker. Fill shaker with ice. Add bourbon, chocolate liqueur, tart cherry extract, chocolate extract and chocolate syrup. Shake. Strain if desired. (We let some of the fruit chunks slip in!) Pour into glass. Top with creme soda. Stir. Toss in a strawberry slice and a whole cherry and garnish with fruit. Yum!

You may decide to wait until after dinner to enjoy this cocktail. To be honest, we made it early and sipped through dinner prep. (Full disclosure – we made another batch for dessert!!)

Our dinner was a selection of simple grilled veggies from the deli counter at the grocery, served with a store-bought Thai Peanut Sauce. If you’re more ambitious, feel free to go crazy here. We wanted simple and easy – a casual evening that still feels special.

Dessert is simply a bowl of cherries and strawberries…(which you might drizzle with a bit of liqueur?)…

Here’s a swatch of dark romance:

The pattern is called Bryony Storm and the color way is Dorian. The pattern is inspired by the tendrils of white bryony that grow wild in hedgerows in England, and definitely conjures up a feeling of British rain and fog. Is there anything more moody? Or romantic?

The Bryony Storm fabric in Noir is used to cover a vintage settee in the living room as well. Other pieces include a dark romantic, organic feathery art piece on metal, a luxurious velvet pillow featuring a large purple tassel, an acrylic coffee table and an elegant vintage painting.

Keep your Valentine’s Day celebration simple with these intriguing, romantic dinner ideas and spend the evening making cocktails, discussing poetry and remembering why you fell in love.

Here’s where to shop the look if you’d like to create your own moody, dark romantic space.

One of a Kind Pillow using Vintage Textiles

Printed All Love Velvet PillowInterested in more dark moody interiors? Check out this post on Design Asylum Blog. Or take things to another level with these darkly romantic castles in England, Scotland and France.